


Hello, Hello.

by anditwasjustathought



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Isolation, POV Original Character, Past Abuse, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 10:20:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10942506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anditwasjustathought/pseuds/anditwasjustathought
Summary: Fic inspired by mamabutts' “A Long Way From Home”! This is about the nursery pearl that Pearl tried to communicate with at the very start of chapter 9 and how she felt about her new neighbor. Major warnings for depiction of a traumatized individual and the effects of thousands of years of isolation, as well as mention of geodes and the implication of lots of past abuse. Violet Pearl is also written as being upset over said geodes being taken away, so warning for that too.





	Hello, Hello.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MamaButts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaButts/gifts).
  * Inspired by [A Long Way From Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4572333) by [MamaButts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaButts/pseuds/MamaButts). 



               The day the light came was the most jarring experience Pearl had had in thousands of years. There had been other upsetting ordeals, so distant in the past that she couldn’t fully recall what they were or _why_ they were so upsetting. She had forced herself to forget the details eons ago. But when the brightness invaded, the fact that such memories once existed came flooding back.

               And it was far, _far_ too much for her to handle.

               The Others felt the same. At least, she thought they felt the same. The cacophony that arose with the terrible new light said as much. They screamed and cried louder than they had in ages. Pearl did not cry with them. She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling that she was supposed to be quiet. That the Others would surely be reprimanded for the grievous crime of emotional outburst. Pearl was better than that. It was why she was still among the barely-living, after all. She knew that as much as the light stung, as much as it burned her eyes and tickled her skin, she was not permitted to show her discomfort.

               She was a good Pearl. A _behaved_ Pearl.

               Instead of making a fuss, she retreated to a far corner of her cell. She curled up as tight as she could, head buried snug between her arms and knees and the cold cell wall. She bit her tongue. She didn’t know why. It was instinct. Maybe, biting it would help keep her quiet?

               Pearl had a feeling that was the answer, but there was no one to ask, and no way for her _to_ ask even if she wanted to.

               She almost lost control when the darkness came back. She almost sobbed in relief. Thankfully, she was able to keep it down to a quiet gasp and a shudder of her shoulders. Finally, she could relax again.

               Or so she thought.

               There were two new Voices, and they were loud. Not as loud as the screaming from the Others had been, but they were too loud for Pearl’s liking. She didn’t like sound. She didn’t like disturbances. She’d long ago grown accustomed to the oppressive darkness and near silence, to the point where both were welcome, _soothing_ attributes of her world. Darkness was good. Quiet was good.

               The new Voices were _not_ good.

               Pearl could have screamed in frustration when the Voices settled next to her cell, if she were one of those undisciplined Others she shared her existence with. Could have, _wanted_ to, but dutifully refrained. She did curl up tight again as she had when the lights came, and tucked herself into the corner furthest from the  Voices, eyes clenched shut and hands pressed against her ears. She didn’t know why she did either of those things, just like she didn’t know why she had bitten her tongue. It was instinct. Nothing more, nothing less. But unlike the mystery of her tongue, her eyes and ears being closed off gave the immediate reward of more darkness and quiet. So she kept at it, pressing her face into her knees and nearly crushing her head between her hands. For a short time, it worked. Everything was darker and quieter than it had been in a long while.

               Until one new Voice started _crying._

               ——————–

               Pearl didn’t know where the other new Voice went. She wished _it_ had stayed instead of the one that had been next door the past few days(Months? Centuries? Eons?). Of course, that one may have been just as noisy and disobedient. But it may have been quieter, too. Less prone to sighing and crying and pacing and _humming._

               Pearl hated the Voice that stayed more than anything she could remember. She tried to block it out, she really did. But it was no use. After an eternity of relative silence, of the closest living creatures being stationed several cells away and _much_ more still and obedient, her ability to ignore sounds so _close_ and _loud_ had all but withered away.

               She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to bash her head against the hard stone wall, angle it so she would crack or even better _shatter_ the pretty purple stone set just behind her left ear. Anything to make the incessant, irksome, petulant Voice _stop._

But Pearl was a good Pearl. She was an _obedient_ Pearl. So she kept her mouth shut, and kept herself busy by scurrying from side to side of her prison as she always had.

               Then, just by chance, she glanced out past the bars of her cell while the Voice was pacing, and saw a silhouette splayed out by the dim lights outside. It was remarkably like that of her own, except for one striking detail. Her belly was _round._

Suddenly, Pearl remembered. Not in thoughts or words or even imagery, but she remembered a _concept_. That protruding shape meant something. Something that made her gut twist and her heart ache at the same time. She remembered her own body being in such a state, a long, long time ago. She couldn’t remember how or why, but she recalled the emotions that went with it.

               Anger. Fear. Disdain. Nausea. Hatred a thousand times more intense than what she felt for the new Voice.

               And unspeakable sorrow when the fullness was ripped away.

               Was _that_ why this Voice cried and paced?

               Suddenly, Pearl didn’t feel as much hatred for her anymore. Instead she felt pity. She felt jealousy. And, strangest of all, she felt kinship. Not that she knew any of those words, or what they meant. But the feelings were there all the same. Dull due to the numbness that she had settled into over millenia of isolation, but oh, they were there.

               Maybe, just maybe, she could get used to the this new Voice. Just as she had once gotten used to the darkness, and the quiet.

               ——————–

               Hello was a pleasant enough neighbor once Pearl got used to her. That’s what she thought of her as now. She wasn’t one of the Others, and the concept of Voice was far too broad, encompassing the _other_ one that Hello had arrived with. Much too confusing.

               So when Hello started making strange, distinct noises, Pearl quickly switched her understanding of the being next door from the mere idea of a Voice to a specific sound.

               "Hello?“

               She didn’t know why Hello made those noises, or why she had repeated that one with such urgency that one time. But the noise had stirred something in Pearl, something subconscious and almost too far gone to retrieve. Hello wasn’t one of the Others, but she was the same kind of creature as Pearl. She had to be, couldn’t have had that fullness in her belly otherwise. So when she had made a noise that wasn’t crying or screaming, just on the other side of the cell wall, seemingly _at_ her, Pearl felt compelled to try and make that noise, too.

               And to her surprise, she could.

               Hello sounded pleased at first. Then, she sounded not so pleased. Pearl didn’t know why. She didn’t have enough left of her mind to remember the meaning of tones or inflections. She didn’t even remember words. Just sounds.

               And she _did_ rather like the sound she learned she could make.

               She repeated it on occasion, sometimes once, sometimes for hours on end. Not that she could feel the difference. There wasn’t any way to measure time where she was. She had lost the concept of it forever ago. Thankfully, it had stopped bothering her forever ago, too.

               Even if it did still bother her, she had new, good concepts to focus on now. Concepts like Hello, and _saying_ "Hello”, and the shadow of a rounded belly, and hoping–but not really grasping why–that her new neighbor got to _keep_ it. Pearl still couldn’t recall what it was or how it got there(though she did feel sick and shuddered at the idea of knowing the ‘how’), but oh, did she get sad when she remembered her own fullness from long ago. It was almost enough to make her cry.

               Almost, but not quite. Hello had coaxed her into making noises, but Pearl still had _some_ restraint. She was still a good Pearl. She was still a _proper_ Pearl.

               ——————–

               When the Voice that Hello had come with returned, Pearl found she didn’t mind. Even though she was far louder than even the Others had been on the day the light came, Pearl had grown accustomed enough to nearby noise that she wasn’t too upset. In fact, it was almost nice. She wondered if the other Voice would stay this time. If she did, she could stand to be a _little_ quieter, though.

               She didn’t understand the noises the Voice made, nor could she understand the noises Hello made back. She could barely even hear Hello over the Voice. Soon it became too much, and Pearl had no choice but to retreat to the far corner of her cell, same as she had when the pair first arrived. She curled up tight and closed her eyes.

               "Hello? Hello? Hello?“

               It didn’t do anything to drown the Voice out. It only added to the noisiness. But pressing her hands against her ears didn’t help this time, not even for a moment, not even when she squeezed so hard her head could pop. So she did the next best thing. Maybe the Voice would quiet down if she made noises with her. And if not, her amusement at her own ability to mimic sound was enough to distract her from the piercing screams.

               "Hello? Hello? Hello?”

               When yet another Voice came, Pearl barely registered it. She didn’t look up, didn’t dare try to pry. Instead she continued her meaningless mantra, sinking further and further into the not-quite-conscious state she had drifted in before the light and Voices came.

                _“Hello? Hello? Hello?”_

               ——————–

               It was hours before she realized the noise had stopped. Pearl lifted her head and peered towards the front of her cell. She couldn’t see any shadows from where she was. Everything was quiet. Everything was too quiet. Something wasn’t right.

               "Hello?“

               She crawled on her hands and knees to the front of her cell, watching for the shadow of her neighbor to shift, for the sound of her voice to break the silence.

               Nothing.

               "Hello?”

               She couldn’t have left. No one left the nursery once they had been made prisoner there, did they? No one had left in thousands of years.

               Then again, no one had _come_ in thousands of years, either, until a few short weeks ago.

                _“Hello?”_

               Pearl dared to raise her voice louder, throat cracking and stinging from going far too long without use. She waited for a response. Waited for some sign that she wasn’t alone again.

                _“Hello!”_

She had always been a good Pearl. She had always known her place, and kept it without complaint. But now, she felt panicked enough that it overrode what she was taught, what she had held onto her entire existence thus far. She had forgotten what it was like to have one of her kind by her side, so close, still voiceless and quiet but always _there_. Always an anchor to reality. A reminder that she was still alive. Still surviving. That _they_ were still surviving. It had only been two weeks if that, but now that Pearl had tasted that quiet but reassuring company again, the thought of losing it terrified her.

               "HELLO!“

               Pearl screamed. She screamed the silly, meaningless sound her neighbor had taught her, the only concrete thing she could focus on in a surge of emotion she forgot she was capable of.

               "HELLO! HELLO! _HELLO!”_

She grabbed the bars of her cage, rattled them, shook them, voice hoarse from strain, loud enough that the Others stirred and rattled as well.

                _“HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!”_

Pearl gasped, chest heaving as she began to hyperventilate. Her body shook, and she sank to the ground on her side when her hands became too weak to grip the bars any longer.

               Silence wrapped around her like a thick, heavy smog. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Pearl hated it. Hated the emptiness in the air. Hated that she had been coaxed out of the inner depths of her mind only for everyone to leave without a second thought again.

               And for the first time in nearly 7,000 years, Pearl cried.


End file.
